Women lawmakers take the lead in shaping policy in Nebraska. Advocates hope other states follow.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — When Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen called a recent special legislative session to address soaring property taxes, it was women who largely stepped up to both advance parts of his main bill and to block his unpopular plans to raise sales and excises taxes to pay for it.

Women hold little more than a third of legislative seats in Nebraska, but they commanded the floor most days of the special session. Those who advocate for getting more women into political office say it is a sight they hope to see replicated across the country as hot-button issues such as abortion, family budgets and school curriculum and safety drive more women to consider running for office.

Republican Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Omaha, chair of the Revenue Committee, introduced Pillen’s main property tax relief plan. But had she not sought to lead the powerful committee six years earlier, she might have been left to participate from the sidelines.

She initially resisted running for the post, she said, because she had served only two years and had not previously held a seat on the Revenue Committee. It was U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer –- a former state lawmaker –- who encouraged her to take the chance, noting she had been elected chair of the Transportation Committee years earlier without much experience.

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